Starfields
by ElegantButler
Summary: 23 years ago, the Earth was the stage of a massive alien invasion. Now, in the year 2005, the people have forgotten. Until a brilliant mind begins to recall a word spoken to him in infancy.
1. Prologue

Starfields

 **PROLOGUE: 23 Years Ago**

Commander Adama watched with great sadness as the Cylon warships tore through the vastness of space toward the dim blue jewel that was the Earth. Vipers were in pursuit, but Adama knew that at least some of the Cylons would make it to the Thirteenth Colony.

On the screens around them, he could see broadcasts of celebrations. The people of Earth were preparing to celebrate an event they called New Year's Day, unaware of the terror they were about to face.

Adama watched the happy celebrations for a moment. Then turned to the youth standing grimly beside him.

"Is there nothing we can do, Dr. Zee?" he asked, solemnly.

"We've done all we can, Commander," Dr. Zee said. "We cannot prevent the attack. All we can do now is destroy the Base Star while the ships are busy with Earth. Then when they return we will engage the fighters."

Adama frowned at the boy whom he often thought of as an honorary grandson, even though he had a perfectly good grandson of his own.

"What about Troy and Dillon?" Adama asked. "Or the Scouts?"

"I will pass a message on to them if you like," Dr. Zee promised.

"You?" Adama stared at him, aghast. "Surely you're not going down there!"

Dr. Zee nodded. "The events taking place now are likely to cause a panic amongst the population. It is my intention to use my ship to send a mind-erasing tone through the atmosphere. Everyone outside my ship will hear it and their memory will be erased."

"Including Troy and Dillon and the others?" Adama asked.

"Yes," Dr. Zee said. "They won't remember the Galactica or the Cylons. And perhaps it will be better that way. It will make integration into the world around them much easier."

Adama nodded grimly.

Dr. Zee was almost never wrong.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

Bryce sat up in the middle of the night. There was something nagging at his mind. A vague recollection of something he'd heard a long time ago. A word spoken when he'd been very little and his father had been by his crib talking to himself as fathers sometimes do when they are alone with their infant sons.

The word had popped into his mind before. But he'd never been able to make sense of it. On the one occasion he'd asked his father what it meant. His father had sidestepped the question while praising Bryce for remembering a word spoken when he'd been an infant.

There was one word that was similar. The name of the small country once known as Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. But Bryce knew, somehow, that that wasn't it. Close. But wrong.

~Not Ceylon,~ his mind insisted. ~Cylon.~

He knew it was important. A word from the past. He wondered if it had anything to do with the forgetfulness that seemed to have descended upon the people of the world. His father and mother had always insisted that people had lost their memories when they stopped using their brains and letting the media think for them.

But Bryce had alway suspected that there was something more going on and that his father knew a lot more than he was letting on.

There was no doubt the man was brilliant. Bryce got most of his talent from his dad.

He wondered, as he always did when the word came to him, if his father had planted the word in his mind. He often felt that it seemed a bit odd that every network in the world, except the pirate stations and the adult stations, would hire a teenager as their head of Research and Development.

There had to be a reason they were there. Beyond the explanations the networks always gave people, which was that they had the best grasp on what young viewers wanted.

The reason was, of course, even more incredible than Bryce could ever have imagined.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Starla Drake sat beside her husband Markus on the sofa in their small apartment. With their youngest child now attending ACS and their eldest firmly ensconced at Breakthru TV, the couple had sold their larger home for a more affordable domicile.

The vu-phone rang and Markus went to the screen to answer.

A man with thinning blond hair appeared on the vu-phone screen.

"Is Starla available?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Markus asked, suspiciously as Starla hurried over to join him.

"It's okay, dear," Starla laughed. "Moonstone's just an old friend."

"Moonstone?" Markus asked.

"His grandma was an old hippie," Starla explained. "She was in the same commune that mine was in. That's how our families met."

Markus nodded and returned to watch the Polly Show which was just coming back on after a flurry of Zik Zak ads.

"It's been a while," Starla said in a low voice. "Have you heard from any of the others?"

Moonstone nodded. "Wellington called yesterday. He says he's worried about his daughter Jenny."

"She works at Network 66, doesn't she?" Starla asked.

Moonstone nodded. "Laura was going to work there, but she got picked for World One instead. I'm rather glad she did. I don't trust that Grossberg fellow."

"Remember, we're not here to judge these people. Just to…"

"I know," Moonstone replied with a nod. "We're just here to guide them. Which reminds me. I did get one other call. From an old friend. There's going to be a reunion in two days at the Eye. He wants us all to attend. With our children."

"By children, I assume he doesn't just mean the little ones," Starla guessed. "What about our spouses?"

"Only if it's unavoidable," Moonstone said. "Certain topics are going to come up."

"Hey! You still chatting with your pal?" Markus called out from the sofa. "Gatsby and Son's been on for ten minutes now. You already missed three explosions!"

"You'd better run," Moonstone laughed at Starla. "I'll see you at the reunion. Two days from now at 10 am at the Eye."


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Bryce toweled off as he got out of the bath and rushed to put on his bathrobe. He wondered who was phoning him at such a late hour and hoped it wasn't Edison. The man always seemed to need him constantly. He wondered how Edison had managed for so long before they'd met.

Bryce sat down tapped in the answer code for his vu-phone which was a little more complicated than those found in standard homes.

It wasn't Edison.

It was a face he hadn't seen since before he became a teenager. Middle-aged now, it was still clean-shaven with warm brown eyes that were both welcoming and strong.

"Bryce," the man said. And his eyes, not quite as dark as his own locked onto Bryce, making it clear that any requests made were not to be refused. That this was much too important for him to ignore. "It's been a while."

"Hello, father," Bryce said, formally.

"Father?" the older man said, in a disappointed tone. "I'm your dad, not your priest."

"Yes, dad," Bryce corrected himself. "Sorry."

"You need to be at the Eye in two days at 10 AM," the man said. "I can't say anything about it right now. Just that this is very important. I can't begin to stress how much."

Bryce recalled the word he'd remembered recently.

"Is this about Cylon?" he asked.

His father seemed rather taken aback. Obviously it did have something to do with it. But what it was, he didn't know.

"Where did you hear that word?" the man wanted to know.

"You mentioned it when I was a baby," Bryce explained. "I don't know why, but I just remembered it not long ago."

"You share my gift of recalling things that happened in infancy," his father said with a smile "What about your dreams?"

"I avoid dreaming," Bryce shrugged. "Too frivolous."

"I'll talk to you about that at the Eye." his father told him.


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Bryce got his coat on and went out to the lift. He rarely left his studio. Even an invitation to his class reunion by his old pal Jenny had been rebuffed with a shrug and lame excuse.

Jenny had seemed disappointed. But lame as the excuse was it was still true. He hadn't seen any of his old classmates since graduation. Network policy didn't allow it.

He hadn't seen his family since even before that. For over six years neither he nor his parents had made any effort to contact each other.

Now, in the last forty-eight hours he had both remembered something his dad had said and had received a call from his dad out of the blue. A call which his father had hinted might have something to do with the mysterious word.

When the lift opened, it was not empty.

"Bryce," Edison said as he stepped off. "Sneaking off on a date?"

"Family business," Bryce explained. "I don't know when I'll be back. Did you need something?"

"I need information on any hidden financial records Simon Peller might have." Edison told him.

"It'll have to wait," Bryce told him. "My father basically gave me that look that says 'show up or the world will end'. "

"I know that look," Edison agreed. "Where are you meeting him?"

"At the Eye," Bryce told him. "But I don't think you can come."

"I want to give you a ride there," Edison insisted. "It's not safe for you to walk out there by yourself."

"Okay," Bryce gave in.

"So, tell me about your parents," Edison requested as they got into one of the company cars.

"My mom, Grace Lynch, works as secondary supervisor at SilverTech," Bryce told him. "That's where she met my dad. He doesn't work there. He works as a freelance ideas man."

"He must be good if they could afford to send at least one kid to ACS," Edison observed. "Or did he work a higher paying job back then?"

"No, he's good," Bryce said, a bit of pride in his voice. "Even smarter than me."

"Now that," Edison said, "I have got to see."

They arrived at the Eye ten minutes later. It wasn't a really great distance. But one had to go through the rougher parts of the Fringes to get there. So it really wasn't very safe to walk to.

"I suppose you want to meet my dad," Bryce said as Edison parked the car across the ruined street from where the Eye stood as tall and majestic as ever.

Edison nodded.

"Very well," Bryce said as he got out and began to walk toward the enormous ferris wheel.

A tall man with white-blond hair met them at the edge of the other side of the road. Edison placed him somewhere in his mid thirties and realized that Bryce hadn't been the only teen genius in his family.

"Dad," Bryce said, "Edison insisted on meeting you."

"That's fine," Bryce's father said, smiling. "It's good to know my son his friends who want to be sure he's safe. So, you're Edison Carter."

Bryce's father extended his hand and Edison shook it. "It's good to meet you," he said, politely.

"Good to meet you as well, Mr. Carter," Bryce's father said. "My name is Dr. Zee."

Bryce stared at his father, dumbfounded. That wasn't something he'd heard before.

"Dad?"

"The time for hiding is over, Bryce," Dr. Zee explained "That's why I've called everyone here."

"Everyone?" Bryce asked.

"The children of the Super Scouts," Dr. Zee told him. "Jenny, Laura, yourself…" he trailed off as he looked as his son. "Didn't you ever wonder why such an important position in such influential corporations had always been given to a teenager?"

"You're saying that Bryce and his counterparts are plants?" Edison asked.

"Almost right, Mr. Carter," Dr. Zee explained as they arrived at the Eye. "They're actually a form of control. We set them up so that if we needed to take control of the planet's communications system, like we're about to do, we would have a foot in the door."

"What if we don't let them cooperate with you?" Edison asked.

"You don't have a choice," Dr. Zee explained. "As you will soon find out, the lives of everyone on this planet depends upon your cooperating with us. You see, the Cylons are coming."

"So, the Cylons are people then?" Bryce asked.

"No, son," Dr. Zee shook his head. "Not people. Machines. Violent man-killing machines. But this is not for you to hear alone. Come, both of you. It's time you learned the truth."

"About what?" Edison asked.

"About why the human race can't remember a large chunk of their history."

Edison and Bryce followed Dr. Zee until they reached the Eye.

"It's a miracle this is still standing after all that happened," Edison remarked.

"Not really," Dr. Zee said as he stood on the platform for the ferris wheel control. "Stand beside me."

Bryce stepped onto the platform and stood close to his father.

"You too, Mr. Carter," Dr. Zee beckoned.

Edison stood on the platform as well. A second later, Dr. Zee pushed the control lever forward.

Instead of causing the old wheel to start spinning, the platform they were on descended slowly until they appeared to be in advanced underground bunker.

They weren't alone either. Jenny was there with her father, Wellington. And Laura with her father Moonstone. Starla was also there with her twins, Alice and Jack. All of the teens were wide-eyed with delight. It was clear that none of them had seen technology that was so highly advanced.

Edison was sure that they all must have felt as if they were in a futuristic paradise. Even Bryce was bright-eyed and grinning delightedly.

"And this has been here since …?" Bryce prompted.

"Since before you were born, Bryce," Dr. Zee explained.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Dr. Zee stood before the Heads of Research and Development from all the major TV networks: Jenny Wellington and her father Jason, Laura Wynters with her mother Sarah and her father Moonstone, Jack and Alice Starr with their mother Starla, Marigold Summer and her mother Sunshine, and Pete Lancer and his father Lance Lancer.

"It is good to see you all," he said, though his voice was far from cheerful. "I only wish I had summoned you under happier circumstances."

He paused for a moment, as if reluctant to say what he knew. Then he went on. There was no time to dally.

"I would first like to address all the teens in the room," he said. "Fifty three years ago, long before any of us were born, our grandparents faced annihilation from a terrible war."

"But I'm not Jewish!" Laura protested.

"That's not the war I'm speaking of," Dr. Zee told her. "Also, the time I'm referring to happened about fifteen years after the time which the people of this world call the Holocaust. It would have been 1955 earth time."

"Earth time?" Marigold asked, tilting her head questioningly.

Dr. Zee continued.

"Unable to save their homes after a devastating betrayal, the survivors of the Twelve Colonies sat off to find their sister Colony, which at that time existed in their minds as nothing more than a legend."

"Why would they search for it if they really didn't believe it was there?" Laura asked.

Her father gripped her shoulder as Dr. Zee explained.

"They had nothing left. Just a few meager possessions and the rags they were wearing."

He let that sit in for a moment before continuing.

"After years of traveling, they finally found the Thirteenth Colony and made plans to join those who had arrived long ago. But before they could do so, they discovered that their enemies had followed. For a while, they managed to keep their destination a secret from the enemy, but eventually it was discovered and a war even more devastating than the Second World War erupted in 1982."

"I don't remember that!" Edison protested.

"None of you do," Dr. Zee explained. "When the Cylons attacked, many of your governments blamed the countries that they had the shakiest relationships with. The United States said it was the Russians, the people of Israel blamed Palestine, and so on. Instead of helping each other out after the attack, they were ready to destroy each other. So I addressed the best scientists in the Galactican Fleet and we created harmonic wave that wiped out that part of everyone's memory. Then we sent people down amongst you to aid the repairs to the buildings and lives that…"

"Wait wait wait…" Pete said. "Cylons? Galactican Fleet?"

"None of us are from Earth," Dr. Zee said. "Most of your parents were born aboard the ships of the Galactican Fleet. Except you, Bryce. I was born about seven light years away on a small planet called Starbuck."

"Cute dad," Bryce said, annoyed. "So, what are we really here for?"

The room dimmed slightly as Dr. Zee began to emit the subtle glow he had been suppressing since he had first moved himself permanently to Earth. He looked into his son's eyes, making it clear that his next word was not a request.

"Dream."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Bryce looked at his father in uncertainty. It had been a long time since he'd dreamed.

"I don't know if I still can," he admitted, fretfully.

"It's not difficult," Edison assured him. "Just close your eyes, relax, and let your mind wander off on autopilot."

"But what if I can't bring my mind back?" Bryce asked, worriedly.

"Just trust yourself," Dr. Zee suggested.

Bryce closed his eyes. He had never allowed himself to simply dream. At least not since he'd started classes at ACS around the age of ten.

He expected a long moment of darkness. Perhaps even a complete failure to do so. But that moment never came. Almost at once he found himself staring out a large window at some part of the galaxy he was unfamiliar with. He wondered if this was another galaxy, perhaps the one his father came from. Then he recognized the pattern of Orion and relaxed. He was still near home territory.

He felt himself moving further outward, beyond the solar system. To the very edge of the galaxy itself.

Then he saw it. The vastness of the universe. The space between galaxies that no one born on Earth had ever seen. It was not the inky black void so many speak of. Instead, a sprinkling of stars dappled the darkness, tiny and distant; as small as specks of sand.

At first he just watched, as if he were standing just inside the doorway to outergalactic space.

Then he stepped through the threshold.

A feeling of dread overcame him as an image began to superimpose itself upon the stars. At first it appeared as a single oscillating red light. Then a face, gleaming silver and cold as death, appeared around it. It's single long eye panel the source of that ever-hunting light.

The word came back to him once again. The word he'd heard in infancy and once again before coming here. And now the word had a face. The face that was death to billions of human beings. That could be death to billions more.

Cylon.

The shock caused him to jolt back to wakefulness. When he looked at his father and Edison, there was terror in his eyes.

"Bryce?" Edison asked.

Bryce said something at that point that he'd never heard before, but which sounded like the perfect thing to say given the situation.

"Oh, frack!"


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"What does that mean ?" Edison asked.

"It's an old Galactican curse," Dr. Zee explained. "Don't worry, though. We're not entirely helpless. The super scouts… a name they were given by a friend of the reporter who kept an eye on them from time to time," he added seeing Edison's confusion, "have a few tricks up their sleeve. And while their offspring haven't inherited their super abilities, they have, as you know, inherited superior intellect."

"So what happens now?" Edison asked. "What are these Cylons?"

"The Cylons originated as a race of reptiles several millennia ago," Dr. Zee lectured. "Over time, they began to rely too heavily on their machines. Until the reptiles were wiped out and only the machines remained,"

"We used to have a movie about something like that," Bryce remarked. "Before the TV theaters were bought out and closed down in the Great Entertainment Takeover of 1997."

"You remember. Good." Dr. Zee nodded, then resumed. "The Cylons machines took on the name of the creatures who made them and since then they have declared war with all flesh life forms. Mankind was, indeed is, one of those life forms. We have been at war with the Cylon Empire for a thousand years."

"So, where are these Cylons now?"

Dr. Zee turned to Bryce. "What did you see?"

"They're orbiting and studying a nearby asteroid belt," Bryce told them. "At their current speed, they should reach Earth in less than two months."

"What will they do when they reach Earth?" Edison asked.

"They will attempt to destroy us," Dr/ Zee explained.

This set off a cacophony of voices, some of which were prophesying doom while others wanted to know how it could be stopped.

"We are not helpless as I have said," Dr. Zee told them. "We have a contingency plan in case of a situation such as this. However, we can not fit the entire population into one spaceship."

"Spaceship?" Edison asked.

Bryce closed his eyes and concentrated. He could see the room they were in. He zoomed out until he could see the city as if it were one big model. Feeling for the presence of anything that didn't seem local, he saw a flash of something like an explosion. Then he saw another event; one that superimposed itself upon the first one. It was minor to all but those who knew it happened and its significance.

"It's okay," he told Edison. "The craft is complete. It just needs an able crew."

"Can you fly her?" Edison asked.

"I'd need to learn more about the ship first before I could answer that question, Edison." Bryce pointed out. "I've only seen rapid glimpses of the ship. Not enough to know its capabilities or its flaws."

"There are two more Galacticans on the planet whose children can also be of help. Those kids are adults now. But they are in positions that are beneficial to us. Suzanna Hamilton is the daughter of former reporter Jaime Hamilton and fomer Galactican pilot Commander Troy who recently took over command of the fleet from his father. Jaime is currently working as a secret ambassadress to the fleet. She was our first contact on this world and has been helpful in helping us set up our colonies on this planet."

"You said there are two," Bryce pointed out.

"The second is Stephen Sydel," Dr. Zee explained. "He's the son of an American Air Force Colonel who first became fully aware of our presence after we healed him from a laser wound he received from a rogue named Xavier. Both Zydel and Hamilton's minds have been awakened and they have agreed to meet us here along with Troy, Dillon, and Jaime."


End file.
